Turkish Bank to Open Branch in Iraq

The director general of Vakifbank of Turkey said on Tuesday that the bank would be open a branch in Irbil city in north of Iraq in the beginning of next year.

“Vakifbank has decided to open the branch in Irbil taking into consideration the banking potential in Iraq. We expect the branch to begin offering services at the beginning of 2011,” Suleyman Kalkan told the A.A correspondent on Tuesday.

Kalkan said there were around 1000 Turkish businessmen and more than 5,000 Turkish workers in Irbil, adding that the trade volume of more than 5 billion USD between Turkey and Iraq displayed the trade potential of the region.

“There are currently 25-30 local banks in Irbil. Banking system and services are insufficient in north of Iraq and in general in Iraq. There are serious problems regarding money transfer in Iraq. So, we think there is a very big potential for Vakifbank, one of Turkey’s biggest banks, in Iraq,” he said.

“We also consider a very big potential in finance of particularly housing and automobile credits,” he added.

Kalkan said Vakifbank planned to employ 15 personnel in the bank’s branch in Irbil.